Updated for Tax Year 2026

Bonus Tax by State

How much of a bonus you actually keep, state by state. Federal withholding, Social Security, Medicare and your state's real 2026 income tax, for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Last updated · New page: state income tax on a bonus computed with the 2026 state brackets

All 50 States + DC
Real 2026 State Brackets
Withholding vs What You Owe
No Signup
Bonus Take-Home by State
2026 rates · single, joint or head of household
YOU KEEP
$0
of the bonus
Bonus$0
Federal withholding (22%)$0
Social Security (6.2%)$0
Medicare (1.45%)$0
State income tax$0
Total taken$0
Share of the bonus0%

The state figure is the tax the bonus really costs you, not a flat withholding percentage.

What Comes Out of a Bonus

From a $10,000 bonus on a $75,000 salary you keep about $7,035 in a state with no income tax, once the flat 22% federal withholding, 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare come out. Where the state taxes income, expect a few hundred dollars more to go: about $885 in California, $540 in New York, $499 in Georgia and $307 in Pennsylvania. The table below has all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and the calculator above uses your own salary and bonus.

A bonus is not taxed at a special higher rate. It is ordinary income. What makes it feel different is withholding: the IRS calls a bonus a supplemental wage, and when it is paid separately from your salary most employers withhold a flat 22% for federal income tax, plus Social Security at 6.2% up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500 and Medicare at 1.45% with no cap. Above $1 million of supplemental wages in one year, the federal rate on the excess is 37%.

Then your state takes its share, and that is where the number on your check really changes. Nine states take nothing at all. In the rest, a bonus is taxed with the same brackets as the rest of your pay, so what it costs depends on what you already earn.

Withholding Is Not the Tax You Owe

This is the part most bonus pages skip. The flat 22% is a withholding rule, not a tax rate. At the end of the year the bonus is added to your other income and taxed at your real rate, and the difference is settled on your return.

  • If your income keeps you in the 12% bracket, withholding 22% takes more than you owe, and the extra comes back in your refund.
  • If you are in the 24% bracket or higher, withholding 22% takes less than you owe, and the rest is due in April.

The table below does the same job for the state part: the state income tax the bonus really causes, computed with your state's 2026 brackets on top of the salary you already earn, instead of a flat withholding percentage.

What You Keep from a $10,000 Bonus, Every State

Single filer, $75,000 salary before the bonus, no pre-tax deductions. Federal withholding at 22%, Social Security, Medicare, and the extra state income tax the bonus causes. Ordered by what you keep.

StateState income tax on the bonusTotal takenYou keepShare kept
Alaskanone$2,965$7,03570.3%
Floridanone$2,965$7,03570.3%
Nevadanone$2,965$7,03570.3%
New Hampshirenone$2,965$7,03570.3%
South Dakotanone$2,965$7,03570.3%
Tennesseenone$2,965$7,03570.3%
Texasnone$2,965$7,03570.3%
Washingtonnone$2,965$7,03570.3%
Wyomingnone$2,965$7,03570.3%
North Dakota$195$3,160$6,84068.4%
Arizona$250$3,215$6,78567.8%
Ohio (before school district and city tax)$282$3,247$6,75367.5%
Indiana (before county tax)$295$3,260$6,74067.4%
Louisiana$300$3,265$6,73567.3%
Pennsylvania (before local earned income tax)$307$3,272$6,72867.3%
Kentucky (before local occupational tax)$350$3,315$6,68566.8%
Arkansas$370$3,335$6,66566.6%
Rhode Island$375$3,340$6,66066.6%
Iowa$380$3,345$6,65566.5%
North Carolina$399$3,364$6,63666.4%
Mississippi$400$3,365$6,63566.3%
Michigan$425$3,390$6,61066.1%
Colorado$440$3,405$6,59566.0%
Oklahoma$450$3,415$6,58565.8%
Nebraska$455$3,420$6,58065.8%
West Virginia$458$3,423$6,57765.8%
Missouri (Kansas City and St. Louis add 1%)$470$3,435$6,56565.6%
New Mexico$475$3,440$6,56065.6%
Maryland (before county tax)$475$3,440$6,56065.6%
Illinois$495$3,460$6,54065.4%
Georgia$499$3,464$6,53665.4%
Alabama (before city occupational tax)$500$3,465$6,53565.3%
Massachusetts$500$3,465$6,53565.3%
Idaho$530$3,495$6,50565.0%
New York (New York City and Yonkers add their own tax)$540$3,505$6,49565.0%
Kansas$558$3,523$6,47764.8%
Montana$565$3,530$6,47064.7%
Virginia$575$3,540$6,46064.6%
Utah$580$3,545$6,45564.5%
Wisconsin$594$3,559$6,44164.4%
Connecticut$600$3,565$6,43564.3%
New Jersey$629$3,594$6,40664.1%
Delaware$660$3,625$6,37563.7%
Vermont$660$3,625$6,37563.7%
South Carolina$663$3,628$6,37263.7%
Maine$675$3,640$6,36063.6%
Minnesota$680$3,645$6,35563.6%
Hawaii$760$3,725$6,27562.7%
District of Columbia$828$3,793$6,20762.1%
Oregon$875$3,840$6,16061.6%
California (plus SDI of 1.3%)$885$3,850$6,15061.5%

The Nine States That Take Nothing

Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming have no state income tax on wages, so a bonus there is reduced only by federal withholding and FICA. New Hampshire taxed interest and dividends until the end of 2024, never wages, so bonuses there are untouched too.

Local taxes are a separate story and are not in the table. New York City and Yonkers, most Maryland counties, many Ohio and Pennsylvania municipalities, Kansas City and St. Louis, and Indiana counties all tax wages including bonuses.

How This Is Calculated

The state figure is worked out the honest way: we compute your state tax on salary plus bonus, then on the salary alone, and the difference is what the bonus costs you in state tax. That is the amount you actually owe, rather than the flat supplemental percentage an employer may withhold. Every state's 2026 brackets, standard deduction and personal exemption or credit come from the same code that runs our paycheck calculator, so the two pages cannot disagree.

Method and sources. Federal withholding on supplemental wages: IRS Publication 15, section 7 (flat 22%, and 37% above $1 million a year). Social Security 6.2% up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500 and Medicare 1.45% with no cap: Social Security Administration and IRS Publication 15. State income tax on the bonus is computed as the state tax on salary plus bonus minus the state tax on the salary alone, using each state's 2026 brackets, standard deduction and personal exemption or credit, from the same engine as our paycheck calculator, cross-checked against the states' own 2026 publications (Georgia House Bill 463, South Carolina House Bill 4216, Utah at the 4.5% the Utah State Tax Commission still publishes). Every figure in the table was computed with that code, not copied. Local taxes such as New York City, Maryland counties and Ohio municipalities are not included.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. A bonus is ordinary income and ends up taxed at your normal rate. What differs is withholding: paid separately, a bonus is usually withheld at a flat 22% federal rate, which can be more or less than you owe. The difference is settled on your tax return.

Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming have no state income tax on wages, so a bonus there loses only federal withholding and FICA. Every other state taxes a bonus like the rest of your pay.

On a $10,000 bonus, federal withholding at 22% takes $2,200, Social Security 6.2% takes $620 and Medicare 1.45% takes $145, so $2,965 goes before any state tax. In a state with no income tax you keep about $7,035. Where there is a state income tax, expect a few hundred dollars more to go, depending on the state and your salary.

Two reasons. Flat 22% federal withholding plus 7.65% FICA is already 29.65%, and a state and local tax push it further. If your employer used the aggregate method, which adds the bonus to a normal paycheck, withholding can look even higher, because the payroll system treats that one large check as if you were paid that much every period.

If the 22% withheld is more than your real rate on that money, yes, it comes back as part of your refund. If your marginal rate is 24% or higher, the opposite happens and you may owe the difference. Either way nothing is lost, it is a timing difference.

Not exactly. Many states publish a flat supplemental withholding rate for bonuses, and your employer may use it. This table shows the tax the bonus actually costs you, computed with your state's real 2026 brackets on top of your salary, which is the figure that matters once the year is settled on your return.

Only the part above the bracket line is taxed at the higher rate, never your whole income. A bonus that crosses a bracket costs the higher rate on the amount above the line, and nothing changes for the income below it.

The usual routes are pre-tax: sending part of the bonus to a 401(k) or an HSA lowers the income it is taxed on, within the 2026 limits of $24,500 for a 401(k) and $4,400 for a self-only HSA. Deferring a bonus into next year moves the tax, it does not remove it. Check anything like this with a tax professional first.